Forkin' Gourd | Country Boy Brewing

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It's no secret that I'm a sucker for a good gimmick from time to time, so when pumpkin ales come'a callin', then I come'a running. But even I become fatigued with the same old attempts to the style with little to differentiated them from another. That's when I'm glad that the world has discovered that porters make a fine base beer for pumpkin flavor along side of amber ales.

The collaboration with the local "Fork in the Road" food truck manifests in a dark, rich, and lathery beer that's topped with espresso-like creme on top of the mocha-brown beer underneath. Where foam character is mild, the stature of the beer steers away from any pumpkin influence.

As expected, the mild char of grains allow for a fresh coffee and chocolate scent to rise. Roasted walnuts, lightly burnt embers and a mild campfire notion whaffs over the olfactory senses with stern porterish demeanor. The pumpkin and squash notes are timid and conveniently desolves into the starchy malt scent.

The taste of gourd is slightly more evident in taste, but the bittersweet chocolate, cold-press coffee, along with the bitterness of walnut oil keep the flavors focused around stronger porter signature flavors. Mild spice adds a pep of spicy bitterness and mild balance to the roast of grain and the broad bitterness of hops.

Starting creamy and chocolaty, the beer turns decidedly toasty and dry after the middle palate of starch and carbonated sweetness subsides. Late alcohol and cinnamon warmth keeps the beer charged with holiday spirit.

Halloween-focused beers should be required to be dark. It simply fits the mood. It takes the minds of Country Boy and Fork in the Road to devise such a scheme.